KEENE, NH – Keene’s full City Council is set to hold a second workshop to discuss the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement and Reconstruction project following an informative first meeting Wednesday night.

The workshops are meant to allow the full council to share their opinions as a group, ask some questions of city staff, and hear further feedback from the public before the project goes to the Municipal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure committee for action.

Wednesday’s meeting featured a mixed bag of opinions on a number of topics related to the project but boiled down to a few key take aways for city staff to work on before the next meeting.

Councilors came to the consensus that they want more information on exactly what is needed for the infrastructure portion of the project, modifications to the bike lane design with numerous possibilities including moving the lanes a block off of Main Street, and while a few councilors were for the redesign of the square and the addition of the mini roundabout, many were in favor of leaving the design as is and making changes to the light pattern to improve traffic flow and safety.

Quite a few members of the public spoke as well, much like the councilors there were speakers who were for the redesign and those who were against it, and many spoke to the bike lanes. Many members of the public and some councilors were concerned about the safety factor with bike lanes on Main Street, while others said drawing more bikes downtown would open up more parking.

On the redesign, the majority of the councilors were on the fence or totally against the mini roundabout and the potential loss of some parking Downtown. Councilor Thomas Powers said there’s a place for roundabouts, and Central Square is not it, while Councilor Mike Giacomo said he was in favor of the roundabout because he felt it will slow traffic, and the added green space entice more people to use the square.

Meanwhile Councilor Michael Remy suggested turning the proposed walkway space at the top of the square into a small parking lot, and Councilor Kate Bosely said she was initially impressed by the proposed redesign, but she’s not in favor of it because of the historic nature of the square, and she’s concerned about large trucks navigating the mini roundabout.

Bosely was one of several councilors who suggested that the current light pattern at the square needs to be fixed. Councilors Bettina Chadbourne and Catherine Workman both said the design of the square should be left as is and be enhanced with a new light pattern and other upgrades, which would save the city money on the project.

There will be updates from city staff on those and other questions, further discussion by the council, and another opportunity for public comment at the next workshop scheduled for April 26th at 6 pm in Council Chambers.